08:25-01
7Snow-Today
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=dal
TAPE# edit of 95-100
GRAPHIC=Winter Wx
The weather word of the day is Paralysis.
The blizzard of '96 has buried the state in more than two feet of snow.
Roanoke city has created a phone bank for non-emergency calls.
SS=Pinnacle #'s
The storm has brought an avalanche of calls on Roanoke City's 9-1-1 center.
Officials are asking residents to call the phone bank for non-emergency
questions.
Those numbers are:
981-2417
981-2725
981-2609
981-2550
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;
And as you can imagine, traveling is treacherous when there's so much snow
on the ground.
Department of Transportation officials say all roads are snow covered, even
the interstates, so you should stay off the roads.
(----------------)
Airport
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=jmc
TAPE# none
GRAPHIC=winter storm
The Roanoke airport will probably be closed most of the day.
The US Air station manager says they were hoping to have some flights leave
at 11, but that's not going to happen.
Drifting snow is making it hard to keep runways clear.
And that's going to be the situation until late this afternoon.
7Montgomery-Co
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=tal
TAPE# 95-106
GRAPHIC=Winter-Wx
Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the New River Valley, dumping UPWARDS of
two feet of snow there.
Tracy Altizer reports.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=
SUPER=03-Blacksburg/Yesterday; :00
SUPER=01-Jan Jackson/NWS Meteorologist; :16
SUPER=03-Montgomery Co./Yesterday; :21
SUPER=01-Matt Carroll/Christiansburg Rescue Squad; :42
SUPER=01-Lynn Barry/Floyd Resident; :57 QUICK!!
SUPER=01-Adele Hobday/Blacksburg Resident; 1:00
SUPER=@Tracy1; 1:05
RUNS=1:21
OUT Q=News 7 Blacksburg.
(( Amid the biggest snowstorm since the Blizzard of '93, the National Weather
Service office in Blacksburg lost its radar. But officials were still able to
determine that Old Man Winter did a number on the New River Valley.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 16:14:39
((JAN JACKSON/NWS METEOROLOGIST: THE HARDEST HIT AREA EXTENDS FROM THE NEW
RIVER VALLEY AND THEN UP THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, UP
THROUGH CRAIG AND ALLEGHENY AND BATH COUNTIES, UP THAT WAY. ))
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=
The mounds of snow proved too much for even a Norfolk Southern train loaded
with grain.
Eighty-one cars derailed in Montgomery County, fortunately nobody was hurt.
And minor accidents were the order of the day on interstate 81, as V-DOT
crews found it difficult to keep up with the storm.
Police and rescue officials say motorists who don't have to be out make
their jobs tougher.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:13:17
((MATT CARROLL/CHRISTIANSBURG RESCUE SQUAD: IT TAKES US A LONG TIME TO GET TO
THE CALLS THAT WE NEED TO RESPOND TO, AND THE OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, THEY
NEET TO STAY OFF THE ROADS SO THAT WE CAN GET THROUGH. ))
RUNS=:08
(/////SOT/////)
SOT nat of shoveling
RUNS=:02
For many, that won't be a problem, because it may take days just to dig out.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 13:01:44
((I LIVE IN FLOYD AND I'M STRANDED IN BLACKSBURG. ))
SOT 13:02:52
((QUESTION: WHAT BRINGS YOU OUT HERE?
ADELE HOBDAY/BLACKSBURG RESIDENT: GROCERIES. MY CAR IS STUCK. THERE'S NO WAY
MY CAR WILL GET OUT SO I HAVE TO WALK.))
RUNS=:09
If you do have to go out in a vehicle, be advised that VDOT has classified
the roads in the New River Valley as condition five, which means snow tires or
chains are required, and there are minor drifting problems in some locations.
Tracy Altizer, News 7 Blacksburg.))
7DAN-L'BURG
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=MORNIN
WRITER=MEL
TAPE# 95-111 and 95-112
GRAPHIC=
Parts of Central Virginia picked up two feet of snow.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Lynchburg;
With every available person on the clock working 12- hour shifts, VDOT was
struggling yesterday just to keep up with the storm on the main roads.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=man, I tell you.
SUPER=01-Kenny Gravette/Amherst Co. Resident;
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=mess out thre.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Danville;
Southside residents are also buried under the white stuff.
Many Danville residents were caught off guard, never expecting this type of
precipitation, in a region that's more likely to see freezing rain than snow.
(----------------)
7weather
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=mel
TAPE# Live
GRAPHIC=winter storm
Let's check now on the current conditions and today's forecast.
Beth Myer joins us now with the details.
(beth ad lib)
(toss to mel)
(mel to break)
55Snow-Today
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=dal
TAPE# edit of 95-100
GRAPHIC=Winter Wx
There's no place to land, no place to drive and not much open
even if you could get there.
The blizzard of '96 has left much of the state paralyzed this morning.
Roanoke city has created a phone bank for non-emergency calls.
SS=Pinnacle #'s
The storm has brought an avalanche of calls on Roanoke City's 9-1-1 center.
Officials are asking residents to call the phone bank for non-emergency
questions.
Those numbers are:
981-2417
981-2725
981-2609
981-2550
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;
And as you can imagine, traveling is treacherous when there's more than two
feet of snow on the ground.
Department of Transportation officials say all roads are snow covered, even
the interstates.
(----------------)
And it looks like air traffic won't be moving today at the Roanoke airport.
The U-S Air station manager says they were hoping to have some flights out at
11, but that's not going to happen.
Drifting snow is making it hard to keep runways clear.
And that's going to be the situation at least until late this afternoon.
55DAN-MONT
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=MORNIN
WRITER=MEL
TAPE# 95-112 and 95-106
GRAPHIC=
The storm has also buried southside Virginia.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Danville;
Folks in Danville were caught off guard, never expecting this type of
precipitation.
Southside Virginia is a region more likely to see freezing rain than snow.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=
((LINDA REHM: WE'RE NOT USED TO IT, I MEAN, IT NEVER SNOWS HERE AND NOW THAT IT
HAS, EVERYBODY JUST FREAKS OUT, RUNNING TO THE GROCERY STORE, I MEAN IT'S
CRAZY.
))
SUPER=01-Linda Rehm/Danville Resident;
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=it's crazy.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-
The New River Valley is also knee deep in snow.
The mounds of snow proved too much for even a Norfolk Southern train loaded
with grain.
Eighty-one cars derailed in Montgomery County, fortunately nobody was hurt.
And minor accidents were the order of the day on interstate 81, as V-DOT
crews found it difficult to keep up with the storm.
(----------------)
55Lynchburg-Wx
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=ssm
TAPE# 95-111
GRAPHIC=Winter-Wx
And in Central Virginia is also knee deep in the white stuff this morning
and that's creating a traffic nightmare.
Steve Smallshaw has more from Lynchburg.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=Believe it or
SUPER=03-Lynchburg/Yesterday; :00
SUPER=01-Kenny Gravette/Amherst Co. Resident; :11
SUPER=@ssm1; :40
SUPER=01-W.T. Ramey/Lynchburg VDOT Adminstrator; 1:03
RUNS=1:13
OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.
(( Believe it or not, the storm had actually lost of some of its punch by early
Sunday evening.
But a 1-2 combination of snow and wind earlier left central Virginia
reeling.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 2:07:09
IN Q=Man, I tell
((KENNY GRAVETTE/AMHERST CO. RESIDENT: MAN, I TELL YOU, ALL I DID WAS COME OUT
TO GET SOME MILK, MILK AND SOME CIGARETTES, I TELL YOU IT'S A MESS OUT HERE.))
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=mess out here.
No argument from the folks who had to be out Sunday... people like truck
driver Al Hart whose rig got stuck on Lakeside Drive.. and the police whose job
it was to get the Al Harts of the world back on the road.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:59:07
((HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT SAID THEY'D BE HERE IN JUST A MINUTE...))
RUNS=:03
With every available person on the clock working 12- hour shifts, VDOT was
struggling just to keep up with the storm on the main roads.
(/////SOT/////)
SU 5:57:26
IN Q=Whenever we
((Whenever we get storms like this, officials always say don't go out on the
roads, and really that warning is based on the assumption that if you do go
outside, you can find your car and dig it out from whatever side street it's
parked on. Road crews say if you live on a secondary road in the city or the
county, you probably won't see a plow in your neighborhood for at least twelve
hours.))
RUNS=:23
OUT Q=twelve hours.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 2:58:23
IN Q=Hopefully
((W.T. RAMEY/LYNCHBURG VDOT ADMINISTRATOR: HOPEFULLY IT WILL QUIT SNOWING TO
WHERE WE CAN HAVE THEM PASSABLE, TO WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO WORK TOMORROW.))
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=work tomorrow.
And of course if you don't have to work, stay home.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg.))
55weather
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=mel
TAPE#live
GRAPHIC=winter storm
Let's check now on the current conditions and today's forecast.
Doublebox=mel/beth
Beth Myer joins us now with the details.
LIVE=beth/full
SUPER=@Beth1;
(beth ad lib)
(beth toss to mel)
(mel to break)
8Morning-Wx
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=8:25
WRITER=JoeD
TAPE#95-97
GRAPHIC=winter storm
The storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in parts of western
Virginia, claimed five lives in other parts of the state.
Four people died in traffic accidents, a fifth suffered a heart attack
while shoveling snow.
DOUBLE BOX=MEL/JOE
Here in the Roanoke Valley we remain under a state of emergency this
morning, and Joe Dashiell reports local officials are asking for help as they
attack the snow covered streets.
LIVE=joe/full
SUPER=05-Roanoke;
SUPER=@Joe1;
Melanie, they hope to make some real progress today... perhaps move on to
some secondary roads... and they're asking everyone who can to stay put and
stay off the road.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=It was perfect
SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00
SUPER=01-Wanda Reed/Roanoke Emergency Services; :20
RUNS=:38
OUT Q=hinders emergency operations.
((It was a perfect night for a wintry walk... but most roanokers resisted
the urge to climb behind the wheel.
Overnight there was no one to get in the way, as city crews attacked a
mountain of snow downtown.
But this day may be a different story as Roanokers head out... and
emergency services are expecting a new wave of worry.))
ANCHOR=JoeD/full
The winds have picked up this morning, We've received reports of 40 mile
per hour winds around Hillsville.
And here in the Roanoke Valley, drifting will prevent the Roanoke Regional
Airport from reopening this morning.
USAIR had hoped to resume its schedule of flights from Roanoke before noon,
but that won't happen. In fact, officials don't expect to be back in business
today at all.
MEL/JOE=DOUBLE BOX
Melanie, that's the story up and down the east coast.
This will be another day of difficulty for the airlines and their
passengers.
8Snow-Today
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=dal
TAPE# edit of 95-100
GRAPHIC=Winter Wx
Roanoke city has created a phone bank for non-emergency calls.
SS=Pinnacle #'s
The storm has brought an avalanche of calls on Roanoke City's 9-1-1 center.
Officials are asking residents to call the phone bank for non-emergency
questions.
Those numbers are:
981-2417
981-2725
981-2609
981-2550
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;
And as you can imagine, traveling is treacherous when there's two feet of
snow on the ground.
Department of Transportation officials say all roads are snow covered, even
the interstates.
So they advise motorist to stay off the roads this morning.
Abandoned cars make it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach those in
need.
(----------------)
8DAN-L'BURG
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=MORNIN
WRITER=MEL
GRAPHIC=winter stormTAPE# 95-111 and 95-112
by SS